The real world skins you alive. It's a hazard of growing up in rural Suffolk... or possibly, it's a hazard of growing up. Either way, the Dorian Andrade and Isaiah Matalon who reunite at a party in Oxford have become equally disenchanted imitations of the boys who used to spend summers eating apples on the riverbank. A lot has changed in the six years since they saw each other. One thing is still the same: the longing for each other's company. But aren't the objects of our yearning so much easier to encounter in the imagination than when they're standing in front of us? GENRE: literary fiction, queer romance TROPES: second chance romance, friends to lovers, mutual pining COMP TITLES: A Little Life, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Call Me By Your Name, basically Wolfstar Muggle AU featured in Ambassador Reads featured in Ambassador Recommendations: Living Beyond Labels Dec 24 featured in Ambassadors: Slice of life featured in ContemporaryLit: Ambassadors' Picks featured in ContemporaryLit: LGBTQ+ Contemporary featured in ContemporaryLit: Literary Fiction featured in lgbtq: ManxMan (NA/Adult Fiction) featured in FreeTheLGBT: Diverse Literature featured in WattpadLitFic: Novels featured in WattpadMulticultural: September 2023 Reads of the Month

Ziri Meziani does not want friends. Born to an unremarkable town in southern England, Ziri spends most of his time in his head. His parents and his therapist tell him that he "shouldn't spend so much time alone", but to Ziri, other people are an inconvenience at best and a threat at worst. Unfortunately, Miles Hoàng is committed to getting on his nerves. GENRE: coming of age, teen bxb romance TROPES: the boy next door, reluctant lovers, tutoring COMP TITLES: The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Black Flamingo featured in Wattpad: BxB Pride Spotlight featured in Wattpad: Written With Pride 2023 AMBY AWARDS WINNER in teen fiction featured in Ambassadors: Rainbow Fiction featured in Teen Fiction: LGBTQIAP+ Teens featured in lgbtq: BoyxBoy (YA) featured in FreeTheLGBT: Diverse Literature featured in StoriesUndiscovered: Tales Of The Heart featured in YaRomance: Unforgettable Firsts